Dear Apple

Your local partner (América Moviles aka Claro) visited me eight months ago offering me two options: a blackberry and a brand new iphone 3g. I accept i was curious at first with the blackberry phone but since i already had your first iphone gen and a wonderful experience with it and your other products i bet for you one more time and bought it.

"Can i keep my current phone plan and still get an iphone?" i asked, "Absolutely" they respond.

So after two weeks my iphone arrived to the office. I proceed to place the chip into the phone and everything worked as expected.

A week went by and i received a voicemail. I was surprised that the voicemail functionality i was getting was nothing closed to what i saw on your website so i went to my phone provider and asked what was happening. They told me it was because i didn't have an iphone plan.

It's ok, i still have an awesome phone with unlimited internet and my entire music collection on it.

One day i noticed the mute button was missing. I bought a phone case since day one so i blamed it. It's my fault!

A month later the volume button was missing! Luckily that button is bigger and i was able to put it back in place. It fall a couple of more times but i could put it back in place everytime (i didn't open the phone, don't even thought on doing so!).

One night i discovered that i was not alone, that some other iphone users where having the same problem so two weeks ago when i was in Florida i scheduled a meeting with one of your geniuses.

He, after looking and playing with my phone for 10 minutes, concluded that my phone had to be replaced. So he took it to his computer but came back saying that the phone was sold overseas (Perú) and that i should take back with me a certificate and that Claro, your partners and my phone provider, should replace it without a hitch. He also mentioned that they are all well trained and that there is an exchange policy with you. That i should not worry.

Happy with the service offered i went to Claro's support center as soon as i got back to Lima. The technician said that the button was actually there but it was dirty. My intelligence and your genious' intelligence was insulted. After a brief fight with him argumenting that your representative accepted the button was not there and that i had a certificate, he said he was sorry but they have an iphone "patent" and that your certificate nor your representative was of any help there.

I went back to Claro's support center one week later. The girl who helped me out was very kind and polite and said that they can't accept your certificate and that i should try my luck with you again.

After calling Apple Care two times you insisted me to solve my problem with Claro.

So here i am, with an expensive broken phone that no one wants to take care of. What can i tell my family, friends and clients when they ask me why i still have my broken phone after tweeting about my case and what your genious told me?

Someone suggest me to go to the local authorities (Indecopi) and present my case but we are still friends, right? I don't want this friendship to stop because you made a mistake partnering with a wrong dude, right?

What should i do? Should i go back and check out that blackberry phone? Should i start to no trust your warranties because your partners will never help me out?

--fernando

Update: I have also emailed an apple care employee about this issue, let's see what happens.

Update 2: Just received an email from an Apple employee mentioning that my case has been escalated internally and that will keep me posted. Thanks everyone who spread the word!